Cultural Conflicts and Identity

With the advent of globalization, people of assorted backgrounds and identities are brought together, which highlights the importance of understanding and respecting different cultures. In Taiwan, the recent meeting between mainland and Taiwan heads of government for the first time in 66 years opened a historic chapter in cross-Strait relations, whereas the concept of “one family” raised some issues when defining “we” and “they”. In the U.S., the Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is legal nationwide since June 26, 2015. The unprecedented change is highly acclaimed across the globe and a sea of rainbow flags prevail worldwide to cheer for the moment. The U.S. set a model which left much for Taiwan to learn for LGBTQ issues. In both countries, influx of foreigners arouse the concerns of inequality or discrimination against different races. How to ensure different voices are on a par is also to be covered.​While these are some issues to be tackled in this roundtable, we expect to explore more problems unseen but hurtful, and examine how different modes of expression facilitate our understanding of self-identity. We will identify laws that lead to just and unjust consequences, and discuss the impact of systematic inequality on self-expression. We value collective voice to deal with identities of different peoples, dig into conflicts induced by cultural discord, and most importantly, find possible solutions to the knots.​Roundtable Leaders: TBA